Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the proscribed Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB), has formally terminated the services of Ifeanyi Ejiofor, his legal counsel.
Ejiofor had represented Kanu and IPOB in numerous court cases since 2015
In a letter dated July 22, 2026, and addressed to Ejiofor, the IPOB leader said the correspondence served as a formal termination of the lawyer’s legal representation, following previous “direct verbal communication”.
The IPOB leader who is serving a jail term in Sokoto Correctional Centre, reportedly wrote the letter from the custodial facility.
The sender’s address of the letter reads: “Mazi Nnamdi Kanu Sokoto correctional centre, Sokoto, Sokoto state, Nigeria”.
An NBA stamp was appended to the letter alongside a notary public stamp bearing the name Kelechi D. Ogbonna.
A copy of the letter was published on X by Aloy Ejimakor, a legal consultant to Kanu, and the link to the X post was shared with journalists.
In the letter, the IPOB leader said despite the earlier verbal termination of Ejiofor’s legal services, the lawyer continued to act as counsel to the separatist group.
Kanu said, with effect from the date of the letter, Ejiofor no longer had the legal authority to represent him, his family, or IPOB.
Citing the IPOB code of conduct, Kanu said he has the power to appoint and dismiss any erring principal officers of the proscribed organisation.
Kanu asked Ejiofor to refrain from representing or speaking on his behalf, family, and IPOB.
The IPOB leader also asked the lawyer not to disclose confidential information acquired during the course of the legal representation.
“As the Leader of IPOB and the holder of the exclusive authority vested in me under the Code of Conduct, I hereby reaffirm that any authority previously granted to you to represent IPOB has been withdrawn,” the letter reads.
“Consequently, any purported mandate, instruction, or authority claimed to derive from any individual or body acting contrary to, or without, the authority recognized by the IPOB Code of Conduct is not recognized by IPOB and cannot serve as a lawful basis for you to hold yourself out as legal representative of IPOB or to make representations on its behalf.
“Refrain entirely from making any public statements, comments, interviews, press releases, or social media posts purporting to speak on my behalf, on behalf of my family, or on behalf of IPOB, or to disclose or rely upon confidential or privileged information acquired during your retainer.
“Cease and desist from presenting or portraying yourself, directly or indirectly, as my legal representative or as legal representative of IPOB in any forum, court, or public space.
“Take all appropriate procedural steps required by law to cease acting as my legal representative on record in any matter in which you remain listed, including filing the necessary notices where applicable.
“During the course of your representation of me and IPOB over several years, you acquired confidential, privileged, and legally protected information relating to my legal affairs, my family, and the affairs of IPOB.
“Those obligations of confidence survive the termination of your retainer and remain binding indefinitely under the applicable rules governing legal practitioners.”
In 2021, the federal government repatriated Kanu to Nigeria from Kenya after he was accused of jumping bail.
Subsequently, the IPOB leader was arraigned on terrorism charges.
In June 2023, Kingsley Kanunta, Kanu’s younger brother, said Ejiofor and Mike Okezhome, a senior advocate of Nigeria (SAN), had been dismissed as counsel to the IPOB leader by members of the family.
Reacting to the comment, Ejiofor said Kanunta had no right to issue the statement since it was Kanu who hired him as legal counsel.
The lawyer insisted that he had not been disengaged by Kanu.
However, Ejiofor stopped representing Kanu in 2023.
Subsequently, in March 2025, the IPOB leader hired Kanu Agabi, a former attorney-general of the federation (AGF) and minister of justice, to lead his defence in the terrorism trial.
In October 2025, Agabi told the federal high court in Abuja that he and all the senior lawyers on the defence team had withdrawn from the trial.
Agabi said the IPOB leader had decided to defend himself in the case.
In November 2025, the IPOB leader was sentenced to life imprisonment over terrorism charges and transferred to the Sokoto Correctional Centre.
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